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"easy to take of"

"2 levels"

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"Wheel to small"

A great cage

I bought this cage from pets at home as a starter pack after my hamster escaped through the bars of the cage I already have. This is a good cage as the bars are more tightly together and there's no chance of any escaping any more!

As a starter pack, it came with the usual: bedding, food, water bottle, food bowl, a bed and a wheel. Everything you need if keeping a hamster is new to you. I did however change the bowl and bed and as my hamster grew, he got too big for the wheel and i had to replace it with a flying saucer as bigger wheels would not fit in the space provided for the original wheel and others cannot be attached to the side as it is completely plastic. I think this poses a problem to many that have a Syrian hamster like me, but apart from the wheel issue, everything else about the cage is good.

There are two floors to this cage, but the second floor only covers about a third of the first floor. It gives the hamster a little more room and is great for the space to give them extra toys. It comes with stairs attached but if your hamster is like mine, it will avoid the stairs and just climb up.

You do need to be careful if you leave the lid open, because of the second floor, the hamster can reach up to the bars and climb out, so be careful.

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A great hamster cage if you have young children, cats or puppies

I recently purchased the Mini Duna from Pets At Home for the very reasonable price of just £25 and it was supplied with a starter pack which included wood shavings, hamster food and bedding, which made it even better value for money. As standard the Mini Duna comes with some basic accessories comprising of a house, wheel, food bowl and water bottle, so if purchased in-store at Pets At Home, it comes with everything you need to set up a comfy home for your hamster.

While the majority of hamster cages are constructed from a plastic base with a wire mesh enclosure, the Mini Duna is somewhat different. There is still a plastic base, but this then has a clear plastic lid, with a wire door at the top for easier access. I particularly like this design for several reasons, the most important of which is that it protects the resident hamster from inquisitive fingers and will also provide protection from other pets such as cats and puppies. The lack of wire bars also helps prevent the problem of hamsters chewing on the bars, which means they are less likely to end up with a bald patch on their nose. Finally this design reduces the amount of mess that the hamster will kick out of the cage to virtually nil, along with containing the distinctive odour of a male hamster.

The Mini Duna is available in several colour-schemes including pink, but ours is a lovely, neutral pale blue and looks far less garish than some of the brightly coloured wire cages. Although titled the Mini Duna, there is nothing mini about this cage, at approximately 55cm by 39cm it provides far more floor space than many, more expensive wire cages, especially when you consider that it also has a platform that increases the floor space by a third again. At approximately 12cm, the base is also far deeper than many of the wire cages, meaning that you can add an extra deep layer of wood shavings for your hamster to dig and burrow in. The lid adds an extra 15cm to the depth, leaving plenty of room to hang toys or treats from the wire door. The wire bars on the lid are less than a centimetre apart, making the cage suitable for both Syrian and dwarf varieties of hamsters. Pets At Home state that this cage is indeed suitable for either dwarf hamsters or a single Syrian hamster.

The Mini Duna is extremely easy to set up for use, the complete, transparent top is easily removed by undoing two clips (which are equally easy to do back up and yet hold the top securely), and it is then simply a case of wiping the base with pet-safe disinfectant and allowing it to dry before adding a layer of wood shavings. As the base is so deep you can add a good layer of shavings which will allow your hamster to dig and forage to it's hearts content, while you're safe in the knowledge that the hamster won't be kicking shavings all over the floor. Depending on how a deep a layer you add, it takes anything between a quarter and half of one of the small packs of compressed shavings to cover the base, which gives a layer between three and six centimetres deep. What's really great about the depth of the base is that if you have a hamster who particularly loves to dig, then you can add an even deeper layer.

The supplied house may not be the largest, but it is plenty large enough for even an adult, male Syrian hamster to snuggle up in. Being made of plastic it is easy to clean and what I especially like is the way it fits securely onto the shelf by way of a little peg and hole affair. While this isn't an essential feature, it does stop the house from being pushed around by the hamster. Talking of the shelf, this adds about another third to the available space, is accessed via a ramp, has a textured non-slip surface and features a barrier to help prevent hamsters from falling off the edge. Although the plastic it is made from is a little on the thin side, the ramp has a relatively gentle slope and is ridged to give purchase and make it easier for even quite small hamsters to move between levels.

The wheel is attached to the edge of the platform and rather than have spokes and bars is in one piece which reduces the risk of injury to the hamsters feet. As with the ramp, the interior of the wheel does feature ridges, which help reduce the risk of the hamster slipping. Although a standard size, the wheel is a little too small for adult Syrian hamsters, but unlike many wheels that we've had previously, it does not squeak and is relatively quiet even when the hamster is running furiously. (I always wonder exactly where the hamsters think they are going when they're on the wheel and in they realise that they're never going to get there).

The supplied food bowl is made of plastic, which is not the most suitable for use with an animal that love to chew, but the plastic is quite thick so it will survive a while and it is big enough to hold a days worth of food for an adult Syrian. I will be replacing this bowl in the near future, but it's good enough for now, even though being red it does not match the rest of the cage. The water bottle is a standard Ferplast sippy bottle, that uses a ball valve to dispense the water while preventing leaks, but it has a special attachment to allow it to be attached to the plastic lid. The metal tube section fits through a hole in the side of the base and the actual bottle is held in place with a pair of suction cups. The bottle holds more than enough water for even the most thirsty of hamsters, does not appear to leak and is easy to remove for emptying, cleaning and refilling. Personally I would recommend buying a bottle brush (a cheap one for cleaning baby bottles is fine) for cleaning the bottle as they are best for removing any algae that may grow inside. The wire door on the lid is a really good size to allow access for spot cleaning, feeding and handling the hamster, is easy to open and secure with two latches and provides plenty of ventilation throughout the cage.

Although Spot is only a baby, he seems to love his new home and spend much of his waking hours exploring every last corner. He has no difficulty moving between levels, running on the wheel or drinking from the bottle and looks very sweet sitting in the food bowl stuffing his cheeks. I will admit that the lack of wire bars means that the cage itself provides fewer opportunities for climbing than other cages, but this is off-set by the amount of available for toys. We've added several toys to add interest to the cage, including a wooden log, play sticks, a hay ball and Tube, and there the cage does not seem in the least bit crowded. While a hamster will often chew the bars in a metal cage, Spot does not have the opportunity to do this, which makes the addition of these chewable toys even more important. Hamsters are great escape artists, and I'm sure, given the chance, that Spot is no exception. I have watched him examining the cage at great length and looking for escape routes, but so far he has been unsuccessful, with the bars being too close together and there being no surfaces he can get a purchase on to gnaw his way through.

When it comes to cleaning the cage out, the design could not make it simpler. The large top opening is perfect for taking Spot out during the cleaning process and then the whole cage can be placed in the bath for cleaning. I really like the way the base is far more rigid than that of other (wire) cages that we have used, which makes it far easier to empty the wood shavings into a black bag for disposal. I also like the fact that I can use boiling water occasionally to give the base a deep clean without it warping. The transparent lid is equally easy to clean, although I have to admit it does tend to pick up smeary fingerprints quite easily meaning that needs a daily wipe to keep it looking it's best.

One of the main reasons for buying this particular cage over a wire model, was so that Spot would be protected from both my two year old son and my five month old Westie pup. It has fulfilled these criteria perfectly, allowing my son to be able to watch Spot, while being unable to poke his finger through the bars and either hurt Spot or allow Spot to bite him. It has also protected Spot from the pup, even staying together when being knocked off the side. That's not to say that I would ever leave the pup on his own in the room with the hamster (not yet anyway), but it does give me the peace of mind that the hamster will survive if I don't intervene quite quickly enough.

If you are looking to buy a new hamster cage and have young children and/or pets such as puppies or cats then I can't recommend the Ferplast Duna Mini enough. It has a much larger floor space than similarly or higher priced wire models, is far easier to clean than modular models, comes with all the basic accessories you need, has plenty of space for toys, is enclosed to protect the hamster from little fingers and not so little teeth, provides a more stable temperature for the hamster by reducing draughts and as a bonus allows for a far deeper layer of substrate and prevents the mess that can be kicked out during digging. With all things considered, I would be quite happy to give the Ferplast Mini Duna four and a half stars out of five (rounded up to five), with my main recommendation being to buy it in-store at Pets At Home so that you also get the starter set, which makes the £25 unbelievable value for money.

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A great cage. shame about the accessories.

Advantages:

- A good size with 2 floors. lots of room for toys/toilet tubes/dwarf hamster to run around- came (from pets at home) with free bedding, woodshavings and food.- comes with free accessories.. house(2 piece for easy cleaning), wheel, bottle with bottle holder and a food dish.- enclosed on all sides so no fear of dwarf hamster escaping/ no issues with woodshavings being kicked out. (less hoovering!)-several base colours available...match your room! Also allows privacy for the dwarf hamster.- bottle sticks to the outside of cage, saving room for toys on the inside- hinged mesh on top for ventilation...hamster cannot escape, allows ventilation, toys/treats can be hanged from the top....we made a toilet tube swing that our dwarf hamster loves.- Easy to clean...no awkward to reach places, tunnels etc- doesn't take up much room in the house (but still a good size for the hamster. I've seen larger cages that have less room for the hamster :-S)

Disadvantages

-May be too small for a syrian...ok for dwarf hamster_ our dwarf hamster used to pee in his house when the house was placed upstairs as instructed...I later found out that many hamsters do this when their houses are a)not open at the bottom and b) upstairs. We have bough a wooden open bottomed house for our hamster and placed it downstairs.- food dish provided was too large...we bought a smaller one-wheel was noisy, difficult for our dwarf hamster to run in and kept getting stuck. it also blocked alot of the downstairs space...have replaced with the silent spinner.- bottle leaks.- sometimes the hinges of the mesh get undone and its quite tricky to put back on again...but not a major issue.

Overall, id say this is a good cage to get if you're willing to upgrade the accessories. Once upgraded and filled with lots of toys: the perfect home for your dwarf hamster.

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A very good cage at a good price

When my sweet little hamster Jasper had to be put to sleep on the 23rd December last year I vowed that I would not have another one as he was pretty much like my baby and would cuddle up on the sofa and go to sleep next to us and things! On a trip to pets at home one day with my sister and son to buy some things for her rabbit I managed to get talked in to buying a new hamster and I do think that pets are good for children to have as they learn about responsibility, caring and life in general. The only thing was that as little Jasper was very poorly with an infection when he had to be put to sleep and I was very upset I just threw all of his things in the bin after I had been to the vets and this included his cage and so I needed everything from scratch again which is how I ended up with the mini Duna hamster cage which is made by Ferplast.

The mini Duna hamster cage stood out to me on the shelf as it looked quite a good size and it was also a good price too at just £25.00. I have to point out that this cage is only suitable for one Syrian hamster or a couple of dwarf hamsters but this suited me fine as Syrians don't really like living together once they pass the baby stage anyway as they can fight.

The hamster cage is made from a good thick plastic and the base on ours is a light grey colour but there are other colours available should you wish. The top part of the cage is a clear plastic all the way around and so different from my last cage which had the metal bars at the bottom but a clear portion at the top. There is a good sized section right on the top of the cage which features the metal bars and this is hinged for getting in and out of the cage. The cage fits nicely on the work top under my boiler and actually I like the fact that it isn't so tall as it just looks a bit better there I think than my taller cage did.

The cage is kind of one two small levels and so there is a clear but bumpy plastic section which fits on the left hand side of the cage and has a ladder attached so the hamster can climb up. Harry actually has his bed and food dish up here although at first he didn't really fancy climbing up the stairs to go there! The clear plastic section obviously means that around a third of the base is covered and Harry just loves this as if he is being shy he can go and hide under there but this doesn't happen very often now really! He also uses one of the corners which are covered as his toilet and so he wees there and this is ideal really as it is so easy to clean it out every couple of days without having to replace all of the sawdust. Harry's wheel also attaches to the plastic upper part but is suspended in the lower part of the cage for use. I bought a wooden play tunnel for Harry too and this is located in the lower part of the cage so he can climb over it or in it as he wanders about. I do like how the base is quite large as I think I can fit treats and toys in there yet Harry still has space to wander about and hide as he wishes.

You do get some accessories with the cage and these are a water bottle, wheel, food bowl, and little plastic house too. I was pleased with the house because it was the same style of house Harry was in at pets at home and so I knew he would be familiar with it. The water bottle attaches to the plastic part of the cage via suckers and slots through a small hole in between the base and the upper part. I haven't known a water bottle attach like this before but we have no problems with it at all and the suckers remain attached well. The food dish is quite large really but at least Harry doesn't tip it over! The wheel does come attached quite low which is fine when the hamster is a baby but I found I needed to raise Harry's to the highest point now he is a little fatty so he can use it properly. This is easily done by a twisting mechanism.

I find that the cage is really secure actually and has two clips which fasten across the metal bars and I do think that Harry would find it very difficult to open the heavy metal part anyway even though he does scale across the top sometimes! The cage also has two large clips which clip the clear part of the cage on to the base and these are in no danger of moving and you know they are clipped on properly when you hear a big clip. For those who have owned hamsters I am sure you are aware that they do have a habit of escaping but I feel very confident with this cage that Harry will be kept in it!

The base of the cage does take some filling with sawdust I have to say as it is quite large and I do like to cover it properly for Harry. I am lucky that he uses just one small area for his toilet and so I do not need to do a complete cage change every time I clean him out. I tend to do a full change every couple of weeks and in all honesty I could probably get away with it for even longer as it comes out looking as good as new but I don't like to keep the same one in for too long. I wipe down the cage and his bed with a specially bought cage cleaner spray too just to remove any germs that may be lurking. I find I have to clean Harry's house out every few days as he stashes all his food in there and sometimes poops in there too so that needs keeping on top of. It is really easy to clean this cage as everything just comes apart easily and so there aren't any little nooks and crannies which would be tricky to clean.

Harry is very happy in this cage. He likes to go and hide under the upper part from time to time and will also scale the metal bars upside down sometimes too! He loves to climb so will attempt to climb to the upper part without using the stairs which is funny to watch but he usually does manage it! I can recommend this cage as it seems very well made and I personally like the style and design of it. I have had cages with tunnels and mazes and such like in and this is much more simple in its design but to be honest I think it is possibly my favourite cage so far as it has a lot of space for toys and for Harry to wander around.

Thank you for reading my review!

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A great hamster cage for all!

Having owned many a hamster in my life and the cages that come with them, I can safely say this cage is one of the better ones, and definitely one I would recommend for somebody getting a their first dwarf hamster! I finally bought it when I went looking for a suitable cage for my new pair of dwarf hamsters from Pets at Home, and thought it looked great, both in the pet shop and at home. The price was also very reasonable at £25 for what you get.

The cage comes in many a colour to suit your taste or even interior décor, and has a deep coloured plastic base with a tall clear plastic top. The middle of the plastic top has a large wire door fitted into it, allowing for extremely easy access to your hamster and their food and water from above. It is especially designed for dwarf hamsters so they cannot get out of the spaces in between bars, but I would say with confidence that it is also suitable for a single Syrian hamster to have as a good home. This is because the dimensions are 27x39x55cm which makes it quite a reasonable size in my opinion!

The inside has a plastic platform with a textured ladder for your little hamster to climb up, but also to hide underneath which is a real multitasker, because I know hamsters love to both climb and hide! The wheel seems to find that perfect size between big enough but not too big, so perfect for any type and size of hamster to run on. The plastic parts including the wheel and interior are really easy to clean, and don't get very dirty easily, they just need wiping with a hot cloth and soap, which I found really handy when cleaning out - certainly saves a lot of time compared with other cages!

Overall, I wouldn't change a thing about this cage even if I could, because it has ease of access, good ventilation, excellent value for money, it's brilliant for beginners, easy to clean and made especially for the requirements of dwarf hamsters. I would definitely recommend.

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I would recommend this hamster cage to anyone because I can't fault it.

In the past three years we have owned three different Hamster cages. I have owned many more in the past but have to say that the Ferplast mini Duna hamster housing is by far the best in my opinion.

The last two hamster cages we owned were the Rotastak dreamland Hamster cage which was a nightmare altogether because you couldn't get to the hamster for socialisation or cleaning and if you did manage to get it out you had to dismantle the whole thing to clean it. The next one we owned was the Argos Hamster starter kit which was flimsy and cheap looking and easy to escape from due to poor design. When buying our most recent hamster cage I was determined to get something practical, something accessible and something that my children could see into.

I went to Pets at Home as it is the biggest pet store in my area and I hoped that they would have something suitable. My maximum budget was £40 as I felt sure that this would be enough to get something at least half decent.

As soon as I went to the hamster cage section of the store I saw the Ferplast Mini Duna and knew instantly that this was the cage I would be taking home. I didn't even bother looking at any other cages and as the Mini Duna came with wood shaving, bedding and a bag of food for the grand total of £25 I was even more certain.

Setting up the Ferplast hamster housing is so simple because it comes already assembled and there is no box or unnecessary packing to worry about. The only thing you have to do is attach the drinks bottle to the side with a couple of suction cups and put the spout through a hole in the side of the cage.

The whole thing is made of plastic with a small section of wire in the top that provides ventilation but can also open up to provide easy access for feeding or petting your hamster. The bottom piece is coloured and I have seen pink, dark blue and light blue versions so many colours are available. The top is clear for viewing and the shelf inside is textured for your hamster to walk on without slipping. You also get the water bottle that fixes to the side and a large food bowl as well as a cute little house. For entertainment there is a large wheel that is the same colour as the base and this is quite wide compared to some other wheels that I have owned. There is a slope that goes from the floor up onto the shelf so your hamster can get around more easily.

The cage is called the mini but it is 27 x 39 x 55cm which is huge compared to some hamster housing. On the Pets at Home website it suggests that this cage is for the Russian variety but I have a Syrian hamster that seems quite happy ion there and there is certainly more than enough space for him.

We have had the hamster cage a few weeks now and I will say that it is the best hamster cage I have ever owned. Firstly you can see your hamster easily and you can either just open the wire or remove it completely to gain access to your pet. This makes taming and socialization much easier and also helps when you are trying to get your hamster out. The whole thing can be taken apart and washed with soapy water including the shelf which comes away from the base. The sides are solid plastic so the hamster cannot flick wood shavings or pee out of the sides while it is burrowing. At the moment although our hamster does like to climb up and swing from the bars on the lid he hasn't managed to get out. I think this is partly down to the fact that the wire opening is in the lid and also because there are two separate slides that hold the thing closed that cannot be accessed by your hamster.

We have invested in some chews and my son wants to get his hamster a toy which will help to make the habitat more interesting but on the whole this is the only hamster cage we will every need.

I would definitely recommend the Ferplast mini Duna hamster housing.

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Both me and Eric love this cage!

When I bought my little Russian dwarf hamster from Pets At Home I knew straight away it was going to cost me a fortune. Not only did I want him for £9.00 I also needed a home for him too! Not only that I needed everything for his new life too including a bottle, a dish and bedding and allsorts really. Sure owning other hamsters (at the time it was a just a couple!) I did have some bits and pieces but no home for him!

On a search around the store I came across this small 'Duna' cage. Actually its not that small at all and in an assortment of colours and complete with food bowl, Water bottle and a bag of nesting material it had everything I needed and all at the price of £25.00.....seemed a bit of a bargain to me!

This is a home especially made with dwarf hamsters in mind as when it comes to a dwarf of course they are small and can easily slip through rungs. This however is a two part, half plastic and half clear plastic kind of home with the only rungs being the top of it which makes the opening to get your pet in and out of which covers the majority of the cage. The only mistake I made was being told that Eric Donald (as he is now lol) was a girl and I named her Doris Pearl and got 'her' a pink and clear cage but like I stated earlier this is available in other colours should you prefer it!

The cage is 27 x 39 x 55cm in size and so for a mini cage this is actually quite large. Its really simple to pop together with the deep tray, plastic coloured section to the bottom of it and the clear plastic top simply pops over that really easily and safely via two large plastic clips to the base of it. The runged opening to the top is white and is hinged but again can be completely popped off there for ease of cleaning.

Oblong in shape and rather tall so the dwarf hamster can't get the rungs situated at the top of it, this comes with another clear perspex plastic level with a little ladder. They are textured so that your hamster can walk on them safely and it makes a platform within the cage. It is completely removable again for ease of cleaning and simply makes another level which makes a large area and a hidey hole for the hamster to tuck itself under away from the world. It also comes with a standard sized bottle which comes with two suckers to dampen and pop on the cage and you poke that through a small hole on the side of the cage and you get a small plastic bowl as well that is none slip. Mine also came with a bag of white tissue nesting paper and all I then needed to supply was the food and treats.

This is a great, robust home for a dwarf hamster in my opinion. Its large, with enough room for a wheel though mine didn't come with a wheel it does have an attachment within the cage so you can pop one in, again of standard size, I personally don't like the normal wheels for a hamster so more so I treated mine to a disc wheel instead so he can't fall off it and hurt himself and that rests on the floor of the cage.

Its easy to clean and safe with plenty of air ventilation for my little one to the top of the cage and theres room to pop little things in there yourself to keep them busy too.

The only issue I have is with the bottle. It falls off and I keep having to restick it on and I have no alternative method to get it on the cage however that is a small niggle. Its a nice, modern easy to keep clean age this one that is great and very worth the money I paid for it in my opinion!

Available in all good pet shops and online, mine, as I mentioned earlier came from Pets At Home.

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A nice hamster cage, but not perfect

I've had a couple of these cages in the past (I had alot of hamsters as a child) and I still keep one now as an extra emergency cage - I also use it to transport my pet rats to the vet!

The cage is suitable for hamsters and pet mice. It would be too small for rats and not durable enough for gerbils.

The duna is mainly plastic - a deep plastic base, with a plastic top that clips on at the ends, and a large metal 'door' on the top. There is a small notch in the side of the plastic base which is where the nozzle of the provided water bottle sticks through. Inside the cage there is one plastic level with a ladder, small plastic house, food bowl and wheel.

Positives:- All the plastic means that you won't have any bedding chucked out of the cage to hoover up.- Comes with all the necessary accessories for use (although you may want to buy more)- No chance of hamsters squeezing out through gaps in bars- There is a textured surface to the plastic level which means your hamsters won't slide around on it.- As the cage doesn't have any sticky out parts, it's quite easy to fit into smallish spaces (cage dimensions are: 27x39x55cm)

Negatives:- Where the water bottle enters the cage I found my hamsters realised that this hole led to the outside world and they kept on chewing at it day after day until the could escape! This is the only part of the cage that isn't escape proof (in my experience).- As the cage is mainly enclosed in plastic there isn't as much air circulating through it which is good from the sense that your pet won't be subject to drafts, but it does mean that unpleasant smells will become apparant more quickly thus the cage will need to be cleaned more.- Not much to keep your hamster entertained and no ability to add extra levels, also not really possible to add any hanging accessories due to the smooth plastic nature of most of the cage.-The accesories aren't of the greatest quality (a bit flimsy and clumsy) but they are functional - some people still choose to replace them with higher quality alternatives, which can easily be done as there are a number of alternative wheels, houses and water bottles that will fit this cage well.

Price wise you can get hold of this cage for £29.99 from pets at home which is a fair price for this particular cage and hamster cages in general.